Friday, September 27, 2013

Clam Chowdah

My mom's YUM-O clam chowder recipe - beloved by our whole family ... at least all of us who eat seafood. Some of the "in-laws" do NOT, including my Cute Husband. My cousin requested it so I decided to put it here, just in case anyone else was in the need for some genuine New England clam chowdah.

I have included the original and some of the minor changes that I made.

1/4 lb salt pork - chunked (I fry up 1/2 lb of bacon, chop it and use it instead)

4 cups of diced potatoes (I use already cut up frozen - Orida brand)

1/2 C chopped onion (I don't measure, just chop some, we like a lot of onions!)

2 C milk (I use skim milk because that's what we always have in the refrigerator)

Fry up the salt pork. (I use bacon, drain on paper towels) Add the chopped onions to and sauté. Drain well. Put the onion back into the pan, add 1 cup of clam broth and 2 cups of water and potatoes. Cook covered for 15/20 minutes. Add clams, milk and cream. (At this point, if you used salt pork, remove the chunks - this is why I use bacon - you don't have to remove it.

Blend 1/4 cup of milk with the flour; stir in to thicken. Add salt and pepper, couple dashes of dill and parsley. Heat slowly. Serve with oyster crackers.

Cooking change - I only cook it for about 6 to 10 minutes without the potatoes and put it in the crock pot with the potatoes all day. Then I add the flour and finish cooking.